Cable’s Ovation network (channel 182 locally on Comcast) calls itself “the only multi-platform network devoted to art and contemporary culture.” Both online and on cable TV and satellite, Ovation covers art from popular contemporary forms to avant garde, reaching some 40 million homes.

On June 20, the original 1999 British hit “Queer as Folk” (not the Showtime version) has its U.S. premiere on Ovation to kick off the “Art Out Loud” programming event.

“Art Out Loud” will also include the basic cable premiere of “Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig” on June 27. John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, the creators of the cult stage musical and film “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” are joined by more than 75 performers to create a benefit album for the nation’s first high-school for gay kids. Among the artists participating: Yoko Ono, Rufus Wainwright, Cyndi Lauper, Jonathan Richman, Sleater-Kinney and They Might Be Giants.

“Brokeback Mountain,” “Tipping the Velvet” and “Torch Song Trilogy” are also part of the “Art Out Loud” lineup, which Ovation says, “takes a look at the influence of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender) culture on film, literature, performance art and television.”